A delicious irony about Deep Sky Vineyard’s 2021 Constellation winning the Governor’s Cup from the 2026 azcentral Arizona Wine Competition is the two time stamps attached to the award: 2026 competition, 2021 vintage.
The years are a record of moments in time, but the end result is symbolic of so much more.
“It’s not something you just get for one year,” said Kim Asmundson, who owns Deep Sky with her husband, Phil. “It’s years of improving our farming. It’s having a great vineyard manager. It’s having James Callahan as a great winemaker. It doesn’t happen overnight.
“The award really goes to James and G (vineyard manager Genaro Alba),” Asmundson said. “I’m just the owner. I put the team together, but it’s James that made it.”
The 2026 competition reflected another banner year for Sonoita-Elgin winemakers.
Deep Sky’s Constellation was also awarded the Growers Cup for Best Red Wine of the competition, and Callaghan Vineyards in Elgin won the Growers Cup for Best White for its 2024 Greg’s, made from Petit Manseng grapes from the Basque region of Spain.
Best of Class winners included Deep Sky’s 2022 Supernova; Callaghan’s 2022 North and South; Dos Cabezas WineWorks‘ 2024 White; and Omphalos Winery’s 2023 Mourvedre.
All told, 11 wineries with roots in Sonoita-Elgin brought home awards. (See list on p. 20.)
Deep Sky’s winning entry is a combination of two Syrah clones, grown at its 15-acre Willcox vineyard and produced at Deep Sky’s custom press in Elgin. The Asmundsons also have a 5-acre vineyard in Elgin, but the Syrah grapes from the Rhone region of France need the warmer climate in Willcox.
Callahan, who owns Rune and Brigand wineries in addition to serving as winemaker for Deep Sky and Autumn Sage, said the quality of Arizona wines continues to improve every year, making the judging more difficult.
He said he knew Constellation was an excellent wine, but judging is always a matter of subjective taste.
“It’s pretty much like a piece of art – there are no strict rules of what wine is better, what art is better,” he said. “I’ve been making their wine for 10 years, and every year we make special wines across the board. My theory is that you keep producing good quality wines, something is going to stick eventually.”
While Callahan has his hands in many different winemaking operations, he says each label is distinctive. Deep Sky, for example, uses only grapes from its own vineyards.
“The character and uniqueness of the wine comes from the terroir,” he said. “It’s about transferring those qualities to the bottle.”
Asmundson said she has complete trust in Callahan to bring out those qualities, and she also raises a toast to her husband. “Phil has a tremendous palate,” she said. “He can pretty much blind taste anything. He thought this isn’t just a good wine; this is a great example of what a Syrah should be.
“It was a 2021, so we really didn’t have that much left, and we kind of decided, nope, we won’t get a lot of sales out of it. But the whole point of the contest is to present what we consider to be the best wines that we produce.”
While Phil’s involvement in the operation is primarily centered on the tasting room, Kim enjoys working in the vineyard. “That’s how I know my vines,” she said. “The problem with pruning is you see all the mistakes you made the prior year.”
She likened Deep Sky’s 20,000 vines to children – “and they are badly behaved,” she said with a chuckle. “Being a farmer is hard; I don’t think people give the farming part of wine enough credit. You have to have good grapes. We work really hard on the farming.” Asmundson and Callahan are both familiar with recent published reports of a downturn for the wine industry – too much wine and too few drinkers, particularly of the younger generation – but they see it more as a challenge of adaptability.
Deep Sky offers a variety of visitor experiences: winery tours, barrel tastings, classes on processes such as pruning vines and blending grapes.
“We think the interest is still there,” she said. “It’s more a question of letting them know about Elgin-Sonoita. There’s so many people that don’t even know there’s a wine country in Arizona.
“And then you have to give them a reason to come back.”
Callahan thinks the industry is healthy enough to open a new tasting room for his Brigand wines in Sonoita later this year. Yes, there are more wineries competing for business, but there’s a corresponding uptick in visitors to the area.
“Those that are able to change business plans, adapt to the current market, will be able to succeed and continue to grow, just like in any other business,” he said.
SONOITA-ELGIN AWARD WINNERS IN THE 2026 AZCENTRAL ARIZONA WINE COMPETITION
• Deep Sky: Governor’s Cup, Grower’s Cup, two Best of Class, five silvers, two bronzes
• Callaghan’s: Grower’s Cup, two Best of Class, three golds, five silvers, six bronzes
• Dos Cabezas: one Best of Class, five silvers, five bronzes
• Omphalos: one Best of Class, one gold, two silvers, one bronze
• Rune: two golds, five silvers, four bronzes
• Brigand: one gold, two silvers, four bronzes
• Sunset Ride: one gold
• Los Milics: four silvers, six bronzes
• Autumn Sage: two silvers, four bronzes
• Arizona Hops & Vines: two silvers
• Najar Cellars: one bronze